How to Define Your Brand Personality

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Stacey Naglie is a Toronto-area personal branding, headshot, lifestyle, and portrait photographer specializing in capturing special moments and telling your story through beautiful and natural-looking photos.

Your brand personality is the essence of your profession. It is one of the most important aspects of your marketing strategy. Without it, you can lose sight of who you are and what separates you from the competition. How to define your brand personality is based on more than just a logo. Every aspect of the marketing you present from the colours of your advertising to the font, and the language you use to communicate, to the images you show, contribute to a strong brand personality.

Because you’re on your own, your services will have to resonate with your target audience. That means the brand you create is much more personal than a company selling a product. Here is how to create a brand image that reflects who you are to make more meaningful connections with your target audience.

What is Your Brand Personality?

First, you have to decide what you want your brand personality to be. Some good questions to ask yourself might include:

What should my brand say to potential customers?
What does my brand say to current customers?
What are my values and beliefs?
How do I want people to feel when they interact with my brand?
What promises should my brand relate to my audience?

If you can answer these questions, you can begin to get a feel for the brand personality you wish to present. It becomes easier to plan what you want people to think when they hear your company name or see your logo.

How to Describe Your Personal Brand

Because your brand personality must be as clear as possible, consider the words you would like people to use when describing you. Common brand descriptions include:

Friendly
Approachable
Knowledgeable
Professional
Trustworthy
Innovative
Creative
Fun
Playful
Humorous
Elegant
Sophisticated
Bold
Smart
Sexy
Cool/hip
Powerful
Helpful
Caring
Compassionate
Simple
Modest
Happy
Whimsical
Quirky

You can mix and match the words to develop a brand you feel suits the personality you want to create.

Why is Personal Branding Important?

Your personal branding is the connection you provide to your clients. It must connect with their heart, soul, and mind because this is the best way to build trust. Your service must be based on trust, as trust is the most crucial element that brings people back to you. It also provides confidence, so people feel safe to refer you to friends and family. A well-developed brand will include:

Consistent, effective words: Everything you say and do should include the terms you feel represents who you are. To create the right words, you must ensure they have a clear purpose and help position your brand. You always use the same brand name and use the same tone and voice in everything that touches the public. Your personality drives the tone and voice.

Brand relevant images: This is where the look of your brand is developed. It will include your logo and graphics and calls for consistency in the fonts, colour palette, image style and overall design in everything you do across your website, social media, signage, office décor and anything that the public sees. Pay close attention to images you post on your website and social media, as these can be the easiest place to drop the ball on brand personality consistency.

Customer experience: Every interaction with the public, whether in person, by phone, on your website, brochures, social media, etc. should provide a consistent customer experience. You decide if you are always professional, offer warmth and humour, empathy or sympathy, etc.

Effective branded marketing: How you reach your audience is just as important as what you provide when they find you. Social media and websites are a must today and help you maintain the look, tone, and voice of the brand you create. These mediums must also provide a consistent customer experience at every touchpoint.

Finally, you need to define your mission statement. A few sentences explaining who you are, what you do and the things you value concerning the services you provide.

How to Get Your Personal Brand Right

Use these essential tips to make sure you get your personal brand right:

Research your audience
Make sure your value proposition is distinct from what your competition offers
Choose a design that reflects the words you use to define your brand
Use language consistently to ensure your brand is reflected in everything you say and do, especially in the content used on social media and your website
Monitor your brand, especially online reviews to see how people view you
Create templates for your ads and have a brand reference with colours, typefaces, mission statements, tone, and voice samples
Avoid mixed messages that might confuse your audience
Never copy your competitor’s marketing or brand image
Maintain consistency for all online and offline marketing
Enlist the help of a personal branding photographer to capture eye-catching photographs that reinforce your brand message

How to define your brand personality is all about consistency and remaining memorable. This is the best way for clients to recognize you. It’s also the only way new clients can see the unique value you bring to the table.